Remember the line in Bull Durham where Crash goes on a rant about one hit a week?
“You know what the difference between hitting .250 and .300 is? It’s 25 hits. Twenty-five hits in 500 at-bats is 50 points, OK? There’s six months in a season. That’s about 25 weeks. That means if you get just one extra flare a week, just one, a gork, a ground ball — a ground ball with eyes! — you get a dying quail, just one more dying quail a week and you’re in Yankee Stadium.”
As it turns out the math really does add up. I realize that batting average is seen as an outdated stat by many these days but the point behind the line still rings true. The best hitters in the world are able to “figure it out” just a little more and do a little more damage than their peers. As I discussed in “What makes a hitter great?” players have different abilities and reasons for why they are great. But something that I didn’t talk about was their ability to be elite problem solvers. Let me give you a couple of examples.
Christian Yelich High Fastball
As you can see on the pitch chart to the left, this was the highest fastball that Christian Yelich got a hit on in 2019. Take a look at how he is able to take his hands almost directly across his upper chest or neck. That’s not a pitch that too many players can get to, let alone hit for a home run.
Javier Baez Off Speed
On this adjustment, Javier Baez shows an incredible amount of control basically pausing his hip rotation to delay his swing enough to get back on time with a Clayton Kershaw curveball. I’ve seen players slow down their hip rotation but this what the first time I’ve ever seen the hips pause.
Carlos Gonzalez Off Speed
Carlos Gonzalez basically extends his hitting zone by extending his stride, getting into his front leg, leaning and reaching to get his barrel to this breaking ball in the dirt. This wasn’t a wall scraper either, which is even more impressive.
Closing
These are not pitches that these hitters will consistently handle. Nor will they be able to make these adjustments consistently. That’s the point. These are the extreme adjustments or solutions to problems that they have the ability to make that separates them from their peers.
Remember back to the quote in the beginning talking about just one hit a week. Being an elite problem solver allows a player to get an extra hit here or there or get another home run or even better, send their team to the playoff or win a championship. A couple more of these adjustments over the course of 600 at bats and it puts you in elite company. It’s amazing how something so small can have such a large impact over a full season.
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